Household growth rate lags in Nova Scotia

Moncton’s rate of household growth was double that of Halifax over a five-year period, according to a report released Tuesday.

In the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s annual review, Moncton’s rate of household growth is shown to have increased by 13 per cent from 2006 to 2011. That’s the highest rate of growth in the number of households in the country.

Over the same period, Halifax’s household growth rate was 6.5 per cent.

However, Halifax had an average annual growth of 2,003 households, substantially higher than the New Brunswick city, which had an average of 1,340.

Overall, Nova Scotia was ahead of only the Northwest Territories in household growth, with a 3.6 per cent rate, or 2,690 households on average per year.

Roger Lewis, a senior researcher in the CMHC policy and research division, said one of the main factors affecting household growth is population growth.

The CMHC numbers were adapted from Statistics Canada census figures.

“As populations grow, more households are formed and the housing stock eventually expands to accommodate those households,” Lewis said in an interview.

Generally, housing completions are strongest in areas that have the highest levels of household growth.

In the Moncton metropolitan area, there were 903 and 1,121 dwellings, including houses and rental units, completed in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Comparatively, there were 2,044 and 1,910 dwellings completed in Halifax in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Economic circumstances can also affect the rate of household growth, Lewis said.

“For example, if the population is growing but people who don’t feel their prospects are good or they can’t afford the cost of housing in their communities, for instance, young people might decide to live with their parents or share housing with other people instead of living on their own.”

Also in the report was news that the rate of mortgages in arrears three months or more fell from 0.41 per cent in 2011 to 0.36 per cent in the first half of 2012.

The numbers were not broken down by province. However, according to the Canadian Bankers Association, there were 1,481 mortgages in arrears in Atlantic Canada in October for a rate of 0.45 per cent.

That rate has been below 0.50 per cent since April 2010.

Matthew Gilmore, senior market analyst with the corporation’s Atlantic business centre, said a declining unemployment rate nationally is a factor in fewer people falling behind on mortgage payments.

“That picture has been improving as of late, especially in the last couple of years, so that always makes mortgage payments a little more manageable,” Gilmore said.

“Low interest rates are certainly supportive of keeping payments relatively lower than they otherwise would be and makes them more manageable as well.”

Growth in resale prices across the country is an underlying factor in the ability of homeowners to make mortgage payments, he said.

According to Tuesday’s report, the average resale price for a home in Halifax in 2011 was $260,950.

“We’ve been seeing six or seven per cent price growth in many parts of the country,” Gilmore said. “That creates a little more equity in the home and creates a little more flexibility when it comes to financing options.”